Transfer News: Thomas Tuchel speaks about rejecting the chance of signing Cristiano Ronaldo
Thomas Tuchel hinted on the possibility that Chelsea considered the opportunity to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, but were unwilling to switch focus from Raheem Sterling who was their number one target this summer, according to Metro.
Sterling arrived from Manchester City earlier this month. The Englishman has already joined his new teammates for pre-season and could feature in their opening game tomorrow against Club America.
Chelsea however did not make a move for wantaway Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo and are very unlikely to do so during the rest of the summer. The 37-year-old is said to be open to leaving United as he wants to play in the Champions League. Chelsea had emerged as an option for the Portuguese but to no avail.
This is despite claims that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly had met with Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes earlier in the summer. But after talks between Boehly and Tuchel, they resisted the temptation to launch a bid for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“If we considered his name… well he’s a fantastic player he is a fantastic player for another fantastic club in our competition in the Premier League. Out of respect we don’t comment on these players because we don’t like other coaches to speak about our players. This is where this has to stay. We focused on our top target Raheem Sterling who we signed and everything else stays behind closed doors.”
It is no doubt Ronaldo would have made a fine addition to the Chelsea squad. Romelu Lukaku’s disappointing return to Stamford Bridge coupled with other Chelsea attackers’ failure to find the back of the net at a consistent level, Chelsea could have done with a proven goal-scoring machine.
However, it seems to be a good decision because Ronaldo would have been a short-term solution to the problem. Given his age, despite the fact he is not slowing down, would have helped Chelsea only for a few seasons. Plus his lack of pressing due to his age would only have Tuchel change his tactics to fit in with the Portuguese.
With the arrival of Sterling, Tuchel can expect some more goals next season. Armando Broja had shown promise last season on loan and it looks like Tuchel may give him a chance this season. Kai Havertz and Mason Mount are expected to continue to find the back of the net from time to time.
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It remains to be seen if Tuchel brings in another attacker. The Chelsea boss has some options in his rank and is likely to assess them during the pre-season. If he is left unimpressed, then he always has the option to dip into the transfer market.